Mountain Lion: A Real Beast of an OS

Mountain Lion: A Real Beast of an OS, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

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Apple’s latest operating system, Mountain Lion continues the company’s tradition of naming its systems after felines, but that’s not the only thing that long-time Apple users will find familiar. The system borrows a lot from iOS as well. Indeed the iPhone’s operating system is wonderful to use and provides incredible utility for a mobile device. Here are a few of the “other” highlights from Mountain Lion.

Twitter Integration

The new Mountain Lion does the best job of integrating different applications and social media platforms into a single UI of any operating system ever. The integration of Twitter is especially exciting for fans of the 140-character information-sharing network. Users can take advantage of “tweet sheets,” which is activated by clicking the button next to Safari’s address bar. This allows instantaneous sharing of information via Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo and other outlets. Twitter notifications will also be integrated into the system’s notifications stream.

The Gatekeeper

Apple’s products aren’t usually as susceptible to malware as their PC counterparts but Tim Cook wants to make sure your mind is at ease, so he and the pencil pushers in Cupertino developed Gatekeeper. Basically the system requires app developers to sign their products with a unique digital signature, and users can choose which level of security they want applied to their computer. The most stringent filter only allows apps to be installed from the Mac App Store. The next level allows only apps that have an approved signature. The lowest security level opens the flood gates completely.

Messages

iChat is gone, but I have a feeling there probably won’t be a huge public outcry for it. The new Messages application syncs conversations between your phone, tablet and computer (assuming they all have the Apple genetics in them). This is one of the most convenient ports from iOS because you can now chat with someone using their Apple ID, iChat handle, or phone number.

Mountain Lion is still a ways away from being released, but the initial features demonstrate why this is much more than a simple upgrade from Snow Leopard. This system integrates all the devices of our lives into one fluid chain. Until it’s released, we have to be content to admire it from afar.